Chapter 2 - Finn

** Skip ahead 2 years **

I toss my bag and textbooks on the table and then glance around.  Tommy stops just a little distance from our usual spot in the cafeteria, but he isn’t looking at the food line.  Instead, he is looking around at the swarm of students who are eating, while a few are studying. 

He jumps slightly as the noise from the bustling students hits him.  He may be taller than me now, but his scared eyes are still the same ones I saw the first time he looked at me in the hospital all those years ago.  No matter how much we train and work to improve and strengthen our bodies, his past is still on full display through his eyes.

I know what he is looking for.  I don’t have to use my ability and read his mind.

I sigh and walk up beside him.  As fear flashes across his face, I playfully nudging his arm.  “Hey.  What do you want for lunch?  It is my turn to buy.”

He blinks a couple of times and sighs before he turns his attention back towards me.  “I’ll have whatever you are having.”

I can’t miss the slight quiver of his lower lip as he talks, but I simply nod.  “Hmm.”

Tommy turns back towards the crowd.  His eyes dart back and forth around the area while he nervously bites his lower lip.  He hesitates for a moment before he takes a deep breath and then turns and walks back to our table. 

My heart aches. 

One of these days, it will get better for him.  I know it will.

When I return to our table with food, Shane and Dee are also sitting there, across from Tommy. 

Shane looks up at me and smiles.  He then taps his finger on the center of the table.  “It is our second year at SM Univserity now.  Are you and Tommy going to finally ask someone out on a date, or have the two of you decided to just date each other?”

Dee sits up straight and nods.  As her eyes narrow, she clicks her tongue and waves her slender finger towards Tommy and me.  “I agree.  You have told us over and over again that neither of you two have dated before.  Isn’t it time to try dating someone?  Anyone?”  She rolls her eyes and waves her hand around the cafeteria.  “There are plenty of people here to pick from.  I would recommend just finding someone you find attractive.”

I lower and shake my head.  My heart twists as I softly reply, “I can’t.  I still can’t trust people.”

Tommy quickly mimics my actions.  “Me too.”

Shane looks at the two of us and huffs, “Well, if you were werewolves, I would say you were waiting for your mate, which is so old-fashioned, but you’re not werewolves.  So, I’ll leave it alone.”

Dee nods and clicks tongue again.  “I agree.  I still can’t believe you know about werewolves.  Most humans don’t have any idea about us.  To be honest, I wouldn’t have believed it if Alpha Mike didn’t tell us.  I still don’t know how you know Alpha Mike, but I’m not going to disagree with my pack’s Alpha.”

Shane picks up his spoon and scoops up some food off his plate.  “Yeah.  I agree.  I’m still lost with all of it.”  He gobbles the food off his spoon and while chewing his food, he adds, “Well, if I had a…  hmm…  a pack, I would…  hmm…   ask my pack’s alpha about you two too.  However, since my entire pack was killed during the big war, I have no one to ask.” 

He sighs and looks at Tommy and then at me.  “I have asked my parents, but they don’t know anything either since we were living away from the pack in the human world when the war broke out.”

Shane doesn’t have any idea how lucky he is to not have been involved in the war. 

When I close my eyes, I can still see images of that war.  The almost constant howls of agony along with the cries of victory still ring in my ears.  My nose fills with the stench of death, along with the coppery scent of blood.  

Unfortunately, those images can’t seem to overpower the images from the time when I was still living with my parents back in their pack.  The things that I had to endure then will never leave me. 

I pick up my utensils and glance at Tommy.  He doesn’t say anything, but I can see the fear in his eyes and the slight twitch of his eyelid.  If I haven’t been by his side all the time for the last 4 years, I wouldn’t pay much attention to it.

I take a deep breath and push the unpleasant thoughts out of my mind. 

I turn my focus towards my plate and pick up my fried chicken.  However, right before I take a bite, I ask, “What about you two?  Are you waiting for your mates, or have you decided you are going to date someone, anyway?”

I glance at Shane and then Dee as I take a bite. 

Shane shrugs.  “I don’t know.  I have a few one-night stands, and a few flings here and there, but I don’t know if I actually want to have a relationship with anyone.  I think for right now, I’m going to just enjoy myself.  If and when my mate comes along, I will worry about it then.  However, it has been a few years since I’ve turned 18, and I still haven’t found my mate.  Maybe I never will.”

My heart squeezes.  I hope we can find our mates. 

Dee takes a drink of her water and nods her head.  “I think I’m going to do the same thing.  Plus, a lot of werewolves my age were killed during the war, so who says my mate is still even alive?  If my mate is already gone, I refuse to waste away and not have any fun for the rest of my life.”

What are they thinking?  The moon goddess will give them a second chance mate.  Haven’t they gone through any of the updated werewolf education?  I thought that all werewolves, regardless of age, had to complete the training.  Clearly, these two didn’t pay attention if they went, or they just didn’t go. 

Ugh…

Well, Shane may not have gone, since he is a rogue, but the updated education is supposed to be provided to everyone regardless of whether you are in a pack or a rogue.  After the war, there were many left without a pack, just like him. 

I’ll have to remember to tell Wyatt and Kane about this when I get home tonight.

Tommy takes a drink of his tea and, with his focus still on his food, he softly says, “The moon goddess allows for second mates, even third or fourth mates if needed.  As long as the werewolf has done nothing wrong when the werewolf has lost his/her mate, the moon goddess will send another mate when she deems the time is right.”

Dang it.  I quietly kick Tommy’s foot. 

If he keeps talking like this, people are going to figure out that we are actually werewolves.  Well, I don’t think that it will be that bad if Shane and Dee find out.  I have looked through their mind, and I have found nothing that would give me the impression they would do any harm to us, but I’m not taking a chance. 

Tommy ignores me and continues eating. 

Shane gulps down some water before he looks at Tommy.  “How do you know that?  Oh, yeah.  I bet Alpha Mike told you.”

Dee shakes her finger back and forth.  “Tsk.  Why would Alpha Mike talk about something like this with you?  Is this part of the updated lectures I’m supposed to attend?  I still haven’t had the time to go to those stupid meetings.”

Tommy continues to keep his gaze on his food as he shrugs his shoulders.  “Maybe.  You will have to talk with Alpha Mike to find out for sure.”  He finally looks up and glances at Shane.  “Is your family ever going to join another pack or does your family want to stay rogues forever?”

Shane shoves a piece of bread in his mouth and while still chewing, he replies, “Yeah…  They have….  talked about…   it….”

Dee glares at Shane and slaps his arm while she huffs, “Shane.  Don’t talk with your mouth full.” 

She then turns her attention back towards Tommy and me.  “I’ve been trying to get his parents to agree to join my pack.  Alpha Mike has already approved it, along with the elders.  However, I still don’t understand why the elders have any say in the matter now.  They never did in the past.”

Well, if they only knew exactly why most of the packs have given the elders more importance, she wouldn’t have even asked that question. 

Shane finishes chewing his food and nods his head.  “Yeah.  My parents are seriously leaning towards that option.  The only drawback my parents can see is they have become so comfortable living and working in the human world that they don’t want to change anything.”

I quickly shake my head.  “You don’t have to change anything.  Alpha Mike has several of his pack members working in the human world, so do the other packs.  That isn’t uncommon nowadays.”

Shane scoops up some more and hesitates for a moment, with the food stopped in front of his mouth.  He looks at me for a second.  “If I didn’t know better, I would still think that the two of you were werewolves and are part of a pack.  The only thing that is keeping me from believing that is that neither of you two smell like werewolves.”